Ishigaki students discover two new small planets

An event called “Churaboshikenkyutai” was held for high school students from August 7 through 9th on Ishigaki Island at the Ishigaki-jima Astronomical Observatory.

The event promotes astronomical observation with the aim to discover something new in the celestial body using VERA, a 20-meter (65ft) caliber radio telescope, and Murikabushi, a 105 cm (3.4ft) optical infrared telescope of the observatory.

As a result of the efforts, one of the teams of students from Ishigaki and Fukushima spotted two new small planets.
“This is a very important discovery for us in research of the solar system.” Takeshi Miyaji, the director of the observatory said.